PORTLAND, Ore. -- The Eastern Washington University men's tennis team picked up its third-straight win on Friday (Feb. 17), as the Eagles knocked off Portland State, 5-2, in Big Sky Conference action.
With this win, Eastern remains undefeated in the Big Sky at 2-0. The win also continues EWU's domination over the Vikings, as they are now 15-3 against Portland State.
"The guys are off to a solid start in the Big Sky," head coach Steve Clark said. "It was less than a perfect effort but we managed."
Coming off his Big Sky Player of the Week award, senior Robert Dula fell in a close match. Nathan Boniel defeated Dula 6-3, 7-6 (7-1). This puts EWU's No. 1 singles player at 1-1 in the Big Sky.
Sophomore Victor Pereira was in the No. 2 singles spot and fell to his opponent Tommy Edwards 6-3, 6-2. He is currently now 1-1 in the Big Sky. The sophomore also teamed up with Dula for the No. 1 doubles spot and they fell 6-3 to Boniel and Edwards.
The next four singles players came in clutch, winning every match for the Eagles.
Junior Scott Paz was in the No. 3 singles spot and had a close first set, winning 6-4. He was dominate in his second set, winning 6-1 which led him to defeating Ethan Lopez, putting him at 1-1 in the conference.
Junior Flavien Raveau defeated Scott Goldner in another competitive set 6-4. He ended up having a perfect 6-0 in the second set, making him undefeated at 2-0 in Big Sky play.
Another Eastern junior, Ricardo Almeida claimed the No. 5 singles spot and had won a close match over Youset Abdo that went into three sets. He won his first set 7-5 before falling 6-3 in the second set. He came out hot in the third set, winning 6-3. This match also makes him undefeated in the Big Sky at 2-0.
Junior Vuk Vuckovic finished off the singles in the No. 6 spot. He had a close first set, defeating Sam Larson at 7-5. He then came out very dominate in his second set, winning 6-1. Vuckovic is another Eagle who is undefeated in the Big Sky at 2-0.
On the doubles side, the No. 1 spot may have lost, but the two other teams came out on top. Paz and Raveau teamed up for the No. 2 spot and defeated Lopez and Goldner, 6-2. Senior Wacil Bendjelti and Almeida finished up the doubles in the No. 3 spot, winning 7-5 to give EWU the one point in doubles action.
"Scott and Flavien played very solid in doubles today," Clark said. "Wacil and Ricardo played well too after losing a game to an overrule. They won the match and came back from a break down."
The Eagles will continue competition this weekend at the University of Portland tomorrow, Feb. 18. Matches will begin at 2:30 p.m.
"We have some work to do on closing the net, finishing at net and managing our court," Clark added. "We look forward to Portland tomorrow and next weekend to test our week of perfect Big Sky effort on task versus North Dakota."
Eastern Washington 5, Portland State 2
Singles
1. BONIEL, Nathan (PSU) def. DULA, Robert (EWU) 6-3, 7-6 (7-1)
2. EDWARDS, Tommy (PSU) def. PEREIRA, Victor (EWU) 6-3, 6-2
3. PAZ, Scott (EWU) def. LOPEZ, Ethan (PSU) 6-4, 6-1
4. RAVEAU, Flavien (EWU) def. GOLDNER, Scott (PSU) 6-4, 6-0
5. ALMEIDA, Ricardo (EWU) def. ABDO, Yousef (PSU) 7-5, 3-6, 6-3
6. VUCKOVIC, Vuk (EWU) def. LARSON, Sam (PSU) 7-5, 6-1
Doubles
1. BONIEL, Nathan/EDWARDS, Tommy (PSU) def. DULA, Robert/PEREIRA, Victor (EWU) 6-3
2. PAZ, Scott/RAVEAU, Flavien (EWU) def. LOPEZ, Ethan/GOLDNER, Scott (PSU) 6-2
3. BENDJELTI, Wacil/ALMEIDA, Ricardo (EWU) def. ABDO, Yousef/LARSON, Sam (PSU) 7-5
